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Consumer Finance Options Open Possibilities for Patients

See More Patients When You Offer Consumer Finance Options

It isn’t the fear of pain that keeps most of your patients from coming to the dentist office – it’s cost. According to a report released late last year by the ADA Health Policy Institute, up to 50 percent of adults aged 50 through 64 said cost of dental care is the number one reason they stay away from the dentist office. The percentages decrease as the age groups get younger, but it’s still a significant number. Consumer finance options give these patients a reason to visit you instead of putting off care.

If you’ve been busy marketing your practice and aren’t quite getting the results you’re looking for, consumer finance options could be the missing link. Some offices have tried implementing a payment plan of their own to try and attract more business. While this does give your patients an option for payment, you can find yourself in a cash flow shortage when too many of your patients fail to give you timely payments. Furthermore, your front office staff is probably going to be quickly mired in billing procedures and collection practices that take away from their efforts to focus on more important aspects of your practice, like customer service.

Another tactic that helps dentists like you get paid on a timelier basis is to offer discounts for patients who pay in full. For instance, you could entice them with a five or 10 percent discount. This is especially attractive to patients who aren’t hurting in terms of cash flow and are always looking for a more economic solution to their expenditures. This can also be an attractive marketing tactic to pull in more business.

Some patients are lead to believe that paying up front and all at once are the only options they have when it comes to dental care. You could tell them that you’ll take half now and spread the remainder of the payments out several months into the future. While this might meet the needs of some of your patients, it’s not the best solution for your staff or for pulling in more business.

One of the most promising marketing tools you have is contracting with a third party to offer outside financing. When you’re with the right financier, you can implement a quick and easy application process for instant credit. This is exactly what consumers expect when they shop today, so why shouldn’t they expect the same from their dentist?
Not every consumer will have the credit necessary to pay you with a major credit card. However, non-traditional financiers are more forgiving of those who don’t have the best credit and will qualify them for a line of credit suitable to meet the amount they owe you.

The HELPcard is a custom fit for companies like yours that need consumer finance options. Has your practice struggled to find the right price point? Give your patients a financing option and you’ll have less worry about price, as will they.